More about: Ian BrownThe Stone Roses

Stone Roses frontchimp Ian Brown has only gone and put out a solo track that’s good.

Called ‘First World Problems’, the track apparently heralds a full-on solo album set to be released in March next year, and stylistically recalls Brown’s baggy, upbeat, sonically-colourful Madchester heyday.

Anyway never mind all that, get your lugholes around it here:

Know what I mean? Cheerful syncopation in the keys, a bubbly high-fret bassline, giant clattering bucket-hat drums. Drawn out vowel sounds up in the nasal register. Mad ‘fer it.

When the full album – Ripples – comes out next year it’ll be Brown’s first proper solo effort for a decade. Word is he’s written all songs bar a couple of strategic covers, produced the lot and played most of the instruments.

Also, bless, there’s a family dimension – his sons have co-writing credits on three songs, and apparently played the odd extra part here and there.

Apparently the LP was committed to tape in Liverpool and “enhanced” at Abbey Road in London, with addition mixing and knob-twiddling geekery at the hands of Brown’s old mucker Steve Fitzmaurice.

The covers are, we gather, of Barrington Levy’s ‘Black Roses’ and Mikey Dread’s ‘Break Down The Walls’.

Despite nowadays looking a bit like like Spock’s grandpa (be honest) Ian Brown remains an influential force in music and fashion. In a recent interview with Gigwise, Richard Ashcroft told us he reckons casual sports brand Adidas owes the likes of him and Ian Brown ‘million pound contracts’ for the amount of clobber they’ve collectively helped flog over the years.

Soon we’ll have a video for this one, so watch this space.

And here’s a tracklist:

Ripples:
01. First World Problems
02. Black Roses
03. Breathe and Breathe Easy (The Everness of Now)
04. The Dream and the Dreamer
05. From Chaos to Harmony
06. It’s Raining Diamonds
07. Ripples
08. Blue Sky Day
09. Soul Satisfaction
10. Break Down the Walls (Warm Up Jam)

Issue Four of the Gigwise Print magazine is on pre-order now! Order here.

More about: Ian BrownThe Stone Roses